Work-holding vise



April 1931- A. w. swANsoN 1,801,648

WORK HOLDING VI 5 E Filed April 26, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q flnekewW/Swwwow Way W 3 April 21, 1931. A. w. SWANSON WORK HOLDING VISE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1950 lit/6W7 find/aw Wfiwa/zson 1?; @400;

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Patented Apr. 21, 1931 uuirso STATES PATENT ANDREW" w, six/ nson, or cIIIoAGo LLINoIs, ass enon T ILLINOIS T001:r worms, or

CHICAGO, L rno-Is, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS WORK-HOLDING VISE Application filed. April 26,

between said jaws without the necessity of extensivelyfshifting said jaws.

' More specifically, my invention contemplates the provision of simple, durable, and efliciently operable means, whereby a, vise -55 aw may be quickly and effectively moved into and out of association with a work piece.

Still more specifically, it is an object-of my invention to accomplish the above mentioned effective shifting of a'vise jaw by providing a mechanism of extremely simple construction, which may be shifted by means of a suitable handle or thelike to impart a sliding movement to the vise jaw, the shifting of said mechanism by means of said'handle 1 1 being in a direction which is transverse to the direction of movement imparted by said mechanism to the vise jaw.

A still further object is to provide a pair of relatively slidable wedge members which so are provided with complementary inclined surfaces, the sliding engagement of the surfaces of said members being such as'to effect a quick and then a retarded firm clamping movement to a vise jaw associated therewith.

These and numerous other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein V i Figure 1 is a plan view of a work holding mechanism or vise Which is representative of one embodimentt of my invention; 7

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectionalview of the vise taken substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1, the inner end of the operating handle being shown in elevation in order to more clearly disclose the to structural characteristics thereof strips 32. 7

against the underside of the baselfi by means 1930. Serial No. 447,481.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the wedge members;

Figure l is also aperspective view of the wedge member which is complementary to the wedge member shown in Figure 3 Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the vise taken substantially along the line 5v-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a similar transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figures? to 9 inclusive disclose various relative positions occupied by the wedge members during the actuation thereof, Figure 7 disclosing the position of said members when the vise jaw occupies its extreme open position, Figure 8 disclosing the position occupied by the wedge members immediately subsequent to the initial shifting thereof, and Figure 9 disclosing the position occupied by the wedge members when the vise jaw occupies its clamping position:

Figures 10 and 11 disclose modified structures, whereby the shifting of the wedge members may be accomplished.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail wherein like numerals have been employed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures, it will be seen that one embodiment of my invention includes a suit-' able base 14, which is provided with a longitudinal central recess 16. The upper surface 18 of the base is finished to slidably receive a vise jaw which I have designated generally by the numeral 20. This vise jaw includes an upright jaw member 22, and detachably secured to the inner surface of the member 22 is a hardened steel jaw plate 24:, said plate being held in position by means of suitable screws 26. A threaded bolt-28 is positioned centrally of and extends downwardly through the jaw' nember 22, and the lower threaded end of said bolt receives a clamping bar 30, Figures 2 and 5.

The opposite upper surfaces of this clamping bar 30 areprovided with corrugations to clampingly engage complementary corrugations provided along the underside'ofsteel These strips 32 are secured of suitable screws 34. Thus, it will be apparent that the vise jaw 20 may be secured in various fixed positions of adjustment by merely loosening the bolt 28, shifting the jaw to the desired position, and then tightening said bolt so as to in ve the bar 30 into clamping engagement with the strips 32. One extremity of the base 14 is provided with an upright section or block 36, in which a horizontal operating handle 38 is pivotally supported by means of a pin 40. The outer extremity of the handle 38 is adapted for convenient manual manipulation, and the inner extremity thereof extends into an aperture 42, Figures 2, 4, and 6. This aperture 42 is formed within a device designated generally by the numeral 44, and which I shall hereinafter refer to as a W6C ge member.

This wedge member 44 includes a body or plate section 46, and extending laterally of and formed integral with this plate are a pair of identical sections 48 and a pair of identical sections 50. This wedge member 44 is adapted to be shifted transversely of the base 14 through the agency of the manually controllable handle 38. Referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that a hardened strip 51 which is detachably secured to the base 14 provides a guiding surface for a key 52 provided 011 the lower edge of the wedge 44. It will be seen that the vertical surface 53 of the wedge 44 slidably engages a companion inner surface of the block 36, Figures 1 and 2, and the outermost surfaces of the sections 48 and 50, which I have designated by the numeral 54, are co-planar and are slightly inclined with respect to the surface 53. In addition to the slightly inclined surfaces 54, the sections 48 and 50 of the wedge member 44 are also provided with inclined surfaces 56, which are disposed at substantially 45 degrees with respect to the surface 53. The wedge member cooperates with a complementary wedge member 44a.

This wedge member 44a carries a hardened jaw plate 58, said plate being secured to the wedge member 44a by means of suitable screws 60. This plate 58, together with the wedge member 44a, presents a vise jaw, which I have designated generally by the numeral 20a, Figure 2. This vise jaw 20a is adapted to slide along the surfaces 18 toward and away from the fixed jaw 20 and is guided by means of a bar 62 which extends downwardly within the aperture of the base 14 and a cross bar 64, Figure 6, which extends on opposite sides of the base aperture 16. Suitable bolts 66 provide means for securing the cross bar 64 and the depending bar 62 in posltion upon the wedge member 44a. To continuously urge the wedge member 54a toward its companion wedge member 44, I provide a coil spring 68, which extends between a pin in the dependin bar 62 and a pin 72 mounted within the base 14, Figure 2.

It will be seen that the wedge member 44a is provided with angularly disposed surfaces, which cooperate with the angularly disposed surfaces of the wedge member 44 previously described. Surfaces provided on the wedge member 44a which correspond with surfaces on the wedge member 44 are given corresponding numerals. Thus, the wedge member 44a is provided with a surface 53a, surfaces 5464 slightly inclined with respect to the surface 53a, and surfaces 56a which are inclined at approximately 45 degrees with re spect to the surface 53a.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that when movement is imparted to the wedge member 44 through the action of the lever 28, the inclined surfaces of each of said wedge members will slidably engage each other. Referring to Figure 7, it will be seen that I have disclosed the relative positions occupied by the wedge members when the vise jaw 20 occupies the position shown in Figures 1 and 2. The wedge members as shown in Figure 7 occupy a nested relation. With the vise jaw 20a in this position the work piece may be placed between the aws. By imparting a clockwise movement to the handle 38 as viewed in Figure 1, the surfaces 56 of the wedge member 44 will slidably engage the companion surfaces 56a of the wedge member 44a, thereby imparting a relatively quick forward movement to the vise jaw 20a. YVhen the handle 30 has been moved sufficiently to bring the wedge members into the position shown in Figure 8, the slightly inclined clamping surfaces 54 and 54a will be moved into engagement with each other. The position of the fixed jaw 20 is such that when the wedge member 44 occupics the position shown in Figure 8, the jaw plate 58 will be so positioned with respect to the work piece that a slight forward movement thereof will cause the work piece to be firmly clamped in position. Thus, during the sliding engagement of the surfaces 54 and 540:, a firm clamping force is experienced by the vise jaw 20a by means of the application 'of a small force upon the lever 38. Also, it

will be noted that regardless of the relative positions of the wedge members, the surfaces 53 and 53a thereof will always be parallel, and it will be further noted that during the quick forward movement of the wedge member 44a, said member is moved a much greater distance in proportion to the distance experienced thereby when the final clamping action results from the engagement of the slightly inclined surfaces 54 and 54a.

To release the work piece, it is only necessary to exert a force in the reverse direction upon the handle 38, the coil spring 68 in this instance serving to quickly move the vise jaw 20a in a reverse direction, thereby maintaining contact between the complementary surfaces of the wedge members. In order to limit the rearward swinging movement of 'the handle 38, I provide a suitable abutment screw 74, Figure In some instances it might be desirable to permit the release of the work piece without the necessity of subjecting the wedge member 44 to its extreme' ployed without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. In this connection attention is directed to the structure shown in Figure 10, wherein a handle 38a is shown which is provided with a quadrant 7 6, which is adapted to mesh with rack teeth 78 provided along the rear surface of the clamping member 44. Likewise, in Figure 11 I have shown a handle 38?) which is also provided with a quadrant 7 6b. The pivot is offset from the center of the quadrant 76b, thereby providing a shorter radius at one end of the segment to give a greater leverage for the final tightening of the wedges.

From the foregoing it is to be understood that my invention contemplates the provision of improved means for enabling the quick and positive clamping and unclamping of work pieces in a vise. The cooperating inclined surfaces of the wedge members are such as to enable a quick initial forward movement of one of the vise jaws, and as this jaw is moved into clamping engagement with the work piece, the slightly inclined surfaces on able a firm clamping force to be exerted with r a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator. The actuating parts are'few in number and may be produced by the practice of conventional machine shop methods, thereby presenting a very practical construction. Obviously, the wedge members may be increased in length if the occasion demands such a construction, and the specific arrangement of the vise jaws may be made to correspond with the type of work piece which is to be clamped. In the drawing I have shown the hardened jaw plate 58 provided with recesses which may correspond with the shape of the work piece. Obviously, other forms of jaw plates may be used, as well as other types of slidable wedge members without departing from the spirit of my invention. In fact, the wedges may be made long enough to extend the full length of a plane bed, in which case there may be a large number of cooperating inclined surfaces instead of the simple arrangement shown in thedrawing. The invention is adaptable for use in connection with various types of vise aws, and therefore presents a very practical solution in instances where a' quick acting vise construction is needed.

Although I have shown a specific arrangement of vise jaws, wedge members, and the like in the drawings, it: should be understood that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from my invention, and that said invention should be limited only by the scope of theappended claims. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping members of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said members including a pair of wedge members relatively shiftablein a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping members, said wedge members having engageable surfaces inclined at a given angle to effect relative movement of said clamping members and having other engageable surfaces inclined at a difierent angle to effect relative movement of said clamping of means for imparting clamping movement to at leastone of said members including a pair of wedge members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping members, said wedge members having engageable surfaces steeply inclined to effect a quick initial movement to one of said clamping members and having slightly inclined engageable surfaces forming continuations of said steeply inclined surfaces to effect the final clamping action of said clamping members, and means for controlling the relative shifting movement ofsaid wedge members. r

3. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping members of means for imparting. clamping movement to at least one of said members including a pair of wedge members having engageable surfaces inclined at a given angle and continuing surfaces inclined at a different angle, one of said wedge members being movable with one of the clamping members and the other shiftable transversely with respect to the movement of said clamping member, and means for. controlling said shiftable'wedge member.

4. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively'movablework clamping members of means forimparting clamping movement to at least one of said members including a pair of wedge members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping members, said wedge members having engageable surfaces inclined ata given angle to effect relative movement of said clamping members and having other engageable surfaces inclined at a different an gle to effect relative movement of said clamping members, means for controlling the relative shifting of said wedge members, and resilient means for maintaining contact between the engageable surfaces of said wedge members.

5. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair f relatively movable work clamping members of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said members including a pair of wedge members having complementary surfaces inclined at a given angle and complementary continuing surfaces inclined at a different angle, one of said wedge members being movable with one of the clamping members and the other shiftable transversely with respect to the movement of said clamping member, means for controlling said shiftable wedge member, and resilient means for continuously engaging the wedge member movable with the clamping member toward its complementary wedge member.

6. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping members of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said members including a pair of wedge members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping members, each of said wedge members provided with a body section and a projecting sect-ion, said projecting section having complementary surfaces inclined at a given angle to effect initial relative movement of said clamping members and having complementary surfaces of a difi erent inclination to effect the final clamping action of said clamping members.

7. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping members of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said members including a pair of wedge members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping members, each of said wedge members provided with a body section and a pair of spaced projecting sections, said projecting sections having complementary surfaces inclined at a given angle to effect in itial relative movement of said clamping members and having complementary surfaces of a different inclination to effect the final clamping action of said clamping members.

8. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping members of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said members including a pair of wedge members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping members, said wedge members having complementary surfaces inclined at a given angle to effect relative movement of said clamping members and having other complementary surfaces inclined at a different angle to effect relative movement of said clamping members, and a pivoted control lever, the outer end thereof adapted for manual manipulation and the inner operatively connected with one of said wedge members.

9. In a clamping device of the class described having relatively movable clamping members, means for imparting movement to at least one of said members including a pair of relatively shiftable complementary devices, each device having a projecting section and an adjacent open section, said projecting sections being provided with complementary inclined surfaces, said devices adapted to occupy a nested relation with the projection section of one positioned within the open section of the other, and when shifted, adapted to occupy a spread relation with the projecting section of one device engaging the projecting section of the other device, and means for imparting relative shifting movement to said devices.

10. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, a base, a pair of jaws on said base, one of said jaws being slidable to effect the clamping action thereof, means for imparting movement to said shiftable jaw including a pair of wedge members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the shifting movement of said jaw, said wedge members having complementary surfaces inclined at a given angle to effect the sudden movement of said slidable aw and other surfaces inclined at an angle to effect the final clamping movement of said jaw, and means for imparting relative shifting movement to said wedge members.

11. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping means, of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said clamping means including a pair of members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping means, said members having cooperating surfaces, at least one of said surfaces being inclined at a given angle to effect relative movement of said clamping means and having other cooperating surfaces, at least one of said last mentioned surfaces being inclined at a different angle to effect a variation in relative movement of said clamping means, and means for controlling the relative shifting of said members.

12. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping means, of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said clamping means including a pair of members relatively shiftablc in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping means, said members having cooperating surfaces, at least one of said surfaces being inclined to eflect a relatively quick initial movement to one of said clamping means and having other cooperating surfaces to effect the final clamping action of said clamping means, and means for controlling the relative shifting movement of said members.

13. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping means, of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said clamping means including a pair of members having cooperating surfaces, at least one of said surfaces being inclined at a given angle and other cooperating surfaces, at least one of said last mentioned surfaces being inclined at a different angle to effect variation in movement, one of said members being movable with one of the clamping means and the other shiftable transversely with respect to the movement of said clamping means, and means for controlling said shiftable wedgemembers.

14. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping means, of means for imparting clamping movement to at least one of said clamping means including a pair of members relatively shiftable in a direction transverse to the movement of said clamping means, said members having cooperating surfaces, at least one of said surfaces being inclined at a given angle to effect relative movement of said clamping means and having other cooperating surfaces, at least one of said last mentioned surfaces being inclined ata difierent angle to effect a variation in relative movement of said clamping means, and means for controlling the relative shifting of said members,

said controlling means including a pivoted.

lever mechanism. V

15. In a clamping device of the class described having relatively movable clamping members, means for imparting movement to at least one of said members including a pair of relatively shiftable cooperating devices, each device having a projecting section and an adjacent open section, said projecting sections being provided with engageable surfaces, at least one of said surfaces being inclined, said devices being adapted to. occupy a nested relation with the projecting section of one positioned within the open section of the other, and when shifted, adapted to occupy a spread relation with the projecting section ofone device engaging the projecting section of the other device, and means for imparting relative shifting movement to said devices. J

16. In a device of the class described a pair of clamping jaws at least one of which is relatively movable to the other for clamping and releasing the work, and a pair of cooperating members one of which is shiftable with the movable jaw, the other of said members con stituting a jaw actuating member, one of said cooperating members having cams of similar pitch at different points transversely with respect to the line of travel of the movable jaw, and other cams having a pitch differing from the first mentioned pitch for effecting a variation in the relative movement of said clamping jaws.

17. In a device of the class described a pair of clamping jaws at least one of which is relatively movable to the other for clamping and releasing the work, and a pair of cooperating members one of which is shiftable with the movable jaw, the other of said members con-' stituting a jaw actuating member, one of said cooperating members having a cam of a given pitch for shifting the movable jaw in response to a given movement of the actuating member, and a cam of a different pitch, for causing a definite different amount of movement of the movable jaw as a result of the same given degree of movement of the actuating member.

18. In a clamping mechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of relatively movable work clamping means, of means for impartin clamping movement to at least one of said cfamping means including a pair of relatively shiftable members, said members having cooperating surfaces, at least one of said surfaces being inclined at a given angle to effect relative movement of said clamping means and having other cooperating surfaces,'at least one of said last mentioned surfaces being inclined at a definite lesser angle to efiiect a variation in relative movement of said clamping means, and means for controlling the relative shifting of said members.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name. 

